Nice article on the Swans site about our style of play, and what we need from any keeper coming in. They have a lot to live up to then ! http://www.swanseacity.net/page/Latest/0,,10354~2404725,00.html
Well, just my opinion but I prefer the excellent shot stopper who is strong on crosses option to that of the distributor. We are going to have to do far more defending in the Premiership and I would feel a lot more secure with a keeper who performs his primary role well. For me, good distribution is a bonus but shot stopping and consistently taking crosses helps to keep clean sheets and if the other team isn't scoring, you are always in with a chance. A keeper invariably has the option of rolling the ball out to a defender who can do the distribution; and I believe that it is a skill which can be greatly improved with practice in any event. But it is a damned sight harder to teach a keeper to take crosses if he is weak on them to begin with. I guess this will divide opinions but my take is simple. A keeper's primary function is to prevent goals. This embraces his ability to be a good shot stopper and the ability to dominate his area. In turn, this gives the back four confidence to do their own jobs without having to unduly worry about protecting the keeper. I'd settle for that.
I agree Ivor - good ditribution is valuable but not at the expense of cutting out crosses. We were so vulnerable at corners which in the Premiership we would get really punsihed. So lets hope for an improvement in this area with eqaully good distribution.
Of course a player has got to get the basics right , but the role of the keeper is vital in our play, we scored no end of goals coming from dorus last season his precision and his ability to act like an additional outfield player was commended by most pundits last season. The fact is we had the second best defence last season even with dorus's failings to command the line at times, I think they know what they are doing at our club and recognise where the failings were, and will remedy that.
Van De Saar was made for Swansea IMO , if I could have one player , no questions asked , it would be Van De Saar . He would keep us up with his defensive prowess , never mind his goalkeeping . He ran the offense out of the defensive zone at Fulham.
Agree Ivor ... The video samples of that Polish kid from a few weeks back were very impressive. Somebody that could take a shot and hold it, excellent at stopping 1v1 situations, commanding on crosses and seemingly good at distribution. Quite frankly I don't see what's so difficult about making a pass of 10 to 20 yards or so to a defender when not under pressure, and when under pressure even DDV pretty much all the time put his boot through the ball and sent it long. I saw most if not all of the Swan's goals last season either live or as highlights on Player and I don't recall any goals coming from something started by DDV. The last one I recall was Anderson's goal against Orient in our last game in L1.
What about dobbie's goal in the play off final ? That move was started by dorus , and his distribution has lead to quite a few other goals during the season! And dorus was a top notch shot stopper , his failing was set pieces as we know, wonder how many of his goals he let in came from them?
A good distributor is key to the way we play though. The second our keeper hoofs it upfield that makes it a 50-50 ball - and we play possession football. Whoever our number 1 is, he'll have to be good in all areas. A big ask imo.
